Leigh Bardugo - Shadow and Bone - Trailer and Preview

                                                   

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (June 5, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805094598

                                        

Book One of the Grisha Trilogy

(Henry Holt/Macmillan)Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near-impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one unlikely refugee.Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life– a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha… and the secrets of her heart.

Matthew Kirby - The Clockwork Three - One To Watch - Scholastic 2010

About the Book
An enchanted green violin, an automaton that comes to life, and a hidden treasure. . . . THE CLOCKMAKER'S GRIMORE is a richly woven adventure story that is sure to become a classic! 

Three ordinary children are brought together in their struggles by extraordinary circumstances. . .

Giuseppe is an orphaned street musician from Italy, who was sold by his uncle to work as a slave for an evil padrone in the US. But when a mysterious green violin enters his life he begins to imagine a life of freedom.
 
Hannah is a soft-hearted, strong-willed girl from the tenements, who supports her family as a hotel maid when tragedy strikes and her father can no longer work. There she learns about a hidden treasure, which she knows will save her family.


Book Published By Scholastic Press U.S - Oct 2010 - Age 10-14

Synopsis:
Giuseppe is a busker, wrenched from his brother and sister in Italy and brought to America to play his fiddle on the streets for the ruthless Stephano.  He sees no way to escape, until the day he finds a green violin that plays magical music.  Frederick is an apprentice clockmaker, with a past he chooses not to remember, but which has left him unable to trust anyone.  His need for independence fuels a secret ambition, the drive to create a clockwork like none ever seen.  Hannah is a maid in a grand hotel, working to pay the rent for her family’s shabby tenement and keep them off the street.  Her life is one of sacrifice and endless drudgery, until a mysterious guest moves into the topmost suite of the hotel, and Hannah overhears a rumor of hidden treasure.

The lives of the three children soon interlock, like the turning gears in a clock, and they all come to realize that each one holds a key to the mysteries and dangers faced by the others.  Their adventures sweep them across their city, from the shipyards to the opera house, from the depths of the Archer Museum to the opulence of the Gilbert Hotel, from the city’s old cemeteries to the darkness of McCauley Park.  Along the way they must learn to trust each other, and in themselves.  For they risk losing those things they hold most dear, and the dangers they face soon become all too real.

Philip Reeve - Fever Crumb (Mortal Engines)

Mr Ripley's Review

Philip Reeve has pulled off writing the prequel to this series. It works as a stand alone prequel novel and superb accompaniment to the Mortal Engines series. This is one of the best books I have read this year. Philip has an amazing ability to write a great book; crafting a story that transports the reader to an imaginary world. The story is fast-paced with exquisite detail encompassing great characters in this fantasy world.
The story centres around the main character "Fever Crumb" who is an odd looking orphan girl. When Fever starts to experience a world outside Godshawk's head, she finds out more then she expects as life has shown no emotion to a girl who is an engineer - and a young one at that.
The tale takes on a great journey, drawing on lots of action. The plot is based around a Victorian theme in London which makes the story come alive. The threads of the plot have been slowly spun together to give great detail. Whilst the ending gives scope for another book to be written in the future. This book gets Five out of Five; one of my best reads of the year - fantasy at its best.




About the book

Fever Crumb is set a generation before the events of Mortal Engines, when cities are just beginning to devour each other. Is the mystery of Fever, adopted daughter of Dr. Crumb, the key to the secret that lies at the heart of London?
Huge armoured fortress are advancing towards London.Buried in the city's past is a terrible secret that may save it from destruction. Only one key can unlock it-an odd-looking orphan named Fever Crumb.


Biography

Hungry City Chronicles
1. Mortal Engines (2001)
2. Predator's Gold (2003)
3. Infernal Devices (2005)
4. A Darkling Plain (2006)
5. Fever Crumb (2009) Prequel

Buster Bayliss
4. Custardfinger (2003)
The Big Freeze (2002)
Day of the Hamster (2002)
Night of the Living Veg (2002)


Larklight
1. Larklight (2006)
2. Starcross (2007)
3. Mothstorm (2008)

Published by Scholastic Children's books - 4 May 2009